In the news today

[dragonrage]

If you are complaining about the bailouts, you are ignorant. They weren't free money. They were loans, and the government has already recovered most of it, ahead of schedule.

It was free money don't fool yourself. And yes the banks were involved in creating our economic decline by selling loans to people that couldn't afford it or weren't qualified for it. B, C banking, giving people and businesses loans that they wouldn't be qualified for at a higher than normal and variable interest rates. ARM loans and mortgages that were used to sell the "American dream" to people (own a home with a white picket fence). Sure for the first five years things were okay then after that your mortgage would be sky high. All of this happened while the bank projected massive profits and shelled out a lot of big fat bonuses. Their own greed fail them.

It created a bubbled that was doom to burst and destroy everything. The housing markets in some places went up 400% than they were originally valued. What are they valued now?

This was all possible because of the policies that were reversed by the Bush administration and what put in place was basically a smoke screen.

Want to know what all this caused? A lot of people had to foreclosed on their homes and businesses or sell or have it adjusted some how. This mean all their credit is worthless and their life savings gone. Where is your consumer market now?

Don't mistake the causes of the crash with the cause of our economic decline. They are completely different things. Most importantly, America is in an economic decline because of demographics: middle aged and old people are about to retire in massive numbers. That would have caused inflation, since they would have all pulled their savings out of the capital markets at roughly the same time. An economic "crisis", like the crash of 2009 merely accelerates the process of demographic withdrawal of funds. Don't believe me? Consider that 60% of Americans were in the labor force in 2008, and that a third of them were due to retire in the next 10 years. That means that 40% of America would have to perform the labor that 60% of America used to -- that means that every American in the labor pool would have to do the work of 1.33 people so that we could all maintain our standard of living. A 33% increase in necessary effort, just to stand still!

If you want to blame anybody, blame your grandparents for having too many kids, and your parents for not having enough to support them.

Why is it then that about 10 % of the population give or take a few is unemployed right now?

All these war which huge sums of money is being spent to be waged and no return to the taxpayers is taking it's toll.

The lack of investment in the education of the children of America. While other countries are heavily investing in education, America is cutting cost. No wonder this country as a whole is getting dumber and dumber.

The lack of investment in America, outsourcing of jobs. The service industry can only pay so much taxes. People favor a better bottom line today than a prosperous one tomorrow and the day after that. There is no American pride anymore. (Capitalism and greed all the way)

Inept leaders; the people that are supposed to be looking out for the country are only concerned about looking out for themselves.

What is all the greed and green going to get you when it no longer holds value.